On Sunday June 5 the French Open (also known as Roland Garros) came to a close. The French Open ended after some explosive games and history being made. Rafael Nadal won his 14th Roland Garros title by beating 23-year-old Casper Ruud. The day before, Iga Swiatek claimed victory over USA’s 18-year-old Coco Grauff.
The last games of the tournament proved to be exciting and full of action. If you couldn’t tune in to the final games of the 2022 French Open, here is a recap of the exciting tennis weekend that we watched.
Roland Garros is a staple of the tennis world. Matches on the iconic brown clay have been played there since 1908 and were played on sand from 1891 until 1907.
Nadal vs Ruud
Spain’s Rafael Nadal claimed a 14th Roland Garros victory this past weekend after he claimed victory over Norway’s Casper Ruud. Nadal won 6-3, 6-3 and 6-0 over Ruud, who was disputing his first Grand Slam final. Ruud seemed a little bit nervous at the start of the game, which led Nadal to serve a 2-0 lead with a strong forehand.
Ruud quickly retaliated after two double faults from Nadal, who seemed distracted from his longstanding foot issues. However Ruud’s lead was short lived. In 48 minutes, Nadal won the first set.
At the start of the second set, Ruud moved 3-1 ahead, but that wasn’t enough to bring the champion to his knees. Nadal wrapped up the third set in 30 minutes and claimed victory.
He had claimed his spot in the finals by beating Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the semis on Friday June 3. With this win, Nadal is now two slams ahead of his rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. Ruud will move from being eighth in the world to sixth. An incredible feat for the 23-year-old.
Swiatek vs Gauff
The French Open doesn’t end with the men’s singles finals; even if it was the last game. Indeed the women’s finals featured two of tennis’s up and coming stars. The women’s singles final game was played between USA’s Coco Grauff and Poland’s Iga Swiatek.
Swiatek, the 21-year-old claimed victory against Coco Grauff beating her 6-1, 6-3 on 4 June in Paris. Grauff was making her Grand Slam final debut and had a shaky start. Indeed, she produced a double fault which led Swiatek to take a 0-30 lead.
The Polish player wrapped the first set in 32 minutes. At the start of the second set, Grauff returned to break and held on a 2-0 lead. However that was not enough to take home the win. Swiatek swooped in to take victory. At only 21, this is her second French Open title.
Swiatek used her victory speech to convey her support to Ukraine and the Urkainian people. The world number one said, ‘I want to say something to Ukraine, to stay strong because the world is still there.’ This strong message was approved by the claps of the spectators inside the main Roland Garros court.
The tournament was also concluded with the women’s doubles. It is the French pair of Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic who snagged the win from the American pair which featured Coco Gruff and Jessica Pegula. The pair won 2-6, 6-3 and 6-2.
The tournament has concluded in the most exciting manner.
